S314 Teamwork
by ZenosParadox
Summary: RS, Tu, Ma. Reed and Sato discover the joys of teamwork while the crew prepares the simulator for their ruse. Missing scene for Stratagem, Episode 14, Season 3.


Title: S314 Teamwork Author: ZenosParadox Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: RS, Tu, Ma. Reed and Sato discover the joys of teamwork while the crew prepares the simulator for their ruse. Missing scene for Stratagem, Episode 14, Season 3. Mild spoilers.  
  
Notes: Occurs as the Enterprise prepare their ruse, 4 pages. Written February 7, 2004. Disclaimer: The Enterprise characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.  
  
TEAMWORK  
  
Hoshi Sato was walking through the corridor to the mess hall, but her mind was more on her PADD than her path. She was forced to confront reality when she bumped into an equally distracted Malcolm Reed who was likewise occupied. The clatter of their PADDS on the floor broke their focus. They blinked at each other in surprise.  
  
"Uh, sorry, Ensign, I--"  
  
"I'm sorry I wasn't watch--"  
  
Both officers reached for the floor to retrieve the PADDS as they simultaneously spoke their apologies. This encounter ended in a mutual head butt.   
  
"Ow!"  
  
"Ooo."  
  
The chagrined linguist then reached out to touch the Lieutenant's head saying, "Let see if there's a bump--"  
  
"Ow!" She had struck again, only this time it was a finger in his eye.   
  
"Oh no!" wailed Sato as she tried to check for damage again.  
  
As he blinked, Reed fended off further assistance by bringing his hand up abruptly while saying, "I'll be fine just--"  
  
"OUCH!" Yes, in his blind attempt to distance himself from the Ensign, Reed had whacked Sato's nose.  
  
"Hoshi! Let me see if you're bleeding," said Reed as he closed his hurt eye and tried to find her.  
  
"It's okay," said Sato as she quickly turned her back to Reed, only to trip on the PADDS that were still on the floor.   
  
"Ugh," emitted Reed as the Ensign's body landed against his chest. He brought his hands up to prevent her fall, effectively smashing the bottom of his palm against her upper torso. The soft, rounded, perky part of her upper torso.  
  
"Eek!" cried Sato as the pain surged through her body. She brought one arm up, but the other swung back with a bent elbow. Her elbow fell back with force and right into the Lieutenant's gut.   
  
"Oof!" Reed was only grateful she had not connected any lower, but the blow also set him off balance.   
  
THUD!  
  
Reed and Sato lay on the floor with their limbs entwined and their minds still refusing to believe they had not fallen asleep at their station. This had to be a bad dream.   
  
They were now breathing heavily, so Reed said. "Slow, deep breaths. One, two, three, we can do this."  
  
Sato complied and synchronized her breathing with Reed. After three cycles of pain-free breathing, Reed said, "I want you to roll slowly away from me."  
  
"Yes, sir," responded Sato. She rolled over slowly and merely whimpered, "Ouch."  
  
"Data PADD?" asked Reed.  
  
"Uh huh," confirmed Sato as she sat up and grabbed the PADD that she had rolled onto.  
  
"I was lying on top of the other one, so we're even," said Reed as he too sat up and retrieved the data PADD that had been under his back.   
  
They reviewed the PADD screens, looked into each other's eyes, and slowly extended the PADDS. They smiled as the transfer was made without the need for analgesia.  
  
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, I've been so absorbed in getting ready for the ruse we're playing on Degra that I've been focused on little else." Sato stood up and brushed herself off as she tried to regain her sense of grace.  
  
"I'm afraid I suffer from the same malady. I was just helping with the simulation of the Xindi Insectoid attack in the cargo bay." Reed stood up as well, but had kept a safe distance from his crewmate. He never realized how dangerous she was to his equilibrium.  
  
"It's going to take a lot of effort to pull this off," said the linguist.  
  
"If we have the teamwork to get out of our present circumstances, I think we can prevail. I take it you were going for dinner?"   
  
"Yes, I haven't eaten all day in fact." To Hoshi's embarrassment, her stomach emitted, not a rumble, but a little whining noise.   
  
As her face began to flush, Malcolm merely offered her his arm and said, "Let me escort you to dinner. I think it's safer for me to know exactly where you're at."  
  
As Hoshi took Malcolm's arm, she gave a light squeeze and said, "Does this mean I get out of my self-defense training this week? No? But I decked you..."  
  
"You fell into me..."  
  
Neither one of them registered the Southern gentleman who had remained quietly in a doorway so as not to embarrass the officers further. Instead, Tucker chuckled as he sketched out his stratagem.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Great, thanks for coming so quickly. I need the two of you to check the control panel in the simulator," said Tucker to Sato and Reed as they arrived in Cargo Bay 2. Mayweather's face gave nothing away as he stood beside the Chief Engineer.  
  
"Here, use this. Make sure it's giving you the same readings," said Tucker in a serious tone of voice. He gave Reed and Sato a pair of scanners and practically shoved them into the simulator and closed the hatch.  
  
Tucker had a wide grin on his face as he joined Mayweather at the controls to the simulator.  
  
"Are you sure you want to go through with this? Remember how motion sick Malcolm got in the catwalk? I don't think Hoshi's much better, either." Mayweather thought he'd offer the Commander one last chance to back out. As for himself, he wanted to demonstrate to their skeptical Lieutenant that they could shake, rattle and roll the simulator sufficiently to mimic an Insectoid attack.  
  
"Trust me, he won't complain. Let's just say I've added the appropriate ingredient to keep his mind off his, er, stomach. Let's roll!"  
  
-----  
  
Inside the simulator, Reed and Sato diligently obeyed their superior officer. They shared an attention to detail, not to mention obsessive perfectionism. They were leaning over the panel side by side when the simulator lurched.  
  
"What the hell!" Reed looked up and around as the floor began to tilt.  
  
"Oh, those two!" cried Sato as she quickly understood what was underfoot as she had trouble staying on her feet.  
  
Reed looked into those brown eyes and told himself it was all for duty, "Best we go with the flow, Ensign."  
  
Hoshi and Malcolm embraced each other as neutrally as they could and dropped to the floor. They curled their feet under the struts of the console to keep from rolling too badly. Hoshi didn't experience any claustrophobia and motion sickness was the barest niggle in Malcolm's mind. Instead they were both aware of the warm body next to them. As the simulator continued to roll, the turbulence was offset by the sense of comfort in that warm contact.  
  
The lurching suddenly stopped. Hoshi looked at Malcolm and smiled wickedly, "It's an experience that Trip and Travis need to enjoy, don't you think?"  
  
-----  
  
Mayweather looked perplexed as Reed and Sato calmly exited the simulator once the hatch opened. Their faces revealed no censure or alarm. He gave a sideward glance to Tucker who merely shrugged, but faced the couple with a grin.  
  
As they gave the scanners back to Tucker, Reed said, "Everything seems to be in perfect order, Commander. There was no instability in the system."  
  
Tucker's grin dropped suddenly. "What do you mean? Didn't you feel that pitch and roll? I mean, we had the simulator rocking--"  
  
"I would have noticed something, Commander. Everything was stable inside." Sato spoke in her most professional tone.  
  
"Perhaps you've stabilized the floor of the simulator too much. You really need to check that out before we put the Captain and Degra in there," suggested Reed.  
  
Tucker scowled and said, "Come on, Travis." He pointed a finger at Reed while he and the helmsman walked to the simulator and said, "You better be pulling my leg about this."  
  
As soon as the hatch closed, Hoshi and Malcolm went to the simulator controls. Malcolm looked at his comrade and said, "Ready?"  
  
"Ready, sir," confirmed Hoshi.  
  
The two officers grinned in synchrony as they manipulated the controls. A successful stratagem required perfect teamwork after all.  
  
*****  
  
Okay, well, it gave me a chuckle. Thanks for reading. No reviews are necessary. 


End file.
